I swear that I am actually working on this rewrite, as well as a sequel. I have the outlines done, and I can't wait till they're written and posted so you all can read them! I'd like to mention eventually this story, and its upcoming sequel, will be rated M.
Having been exhausted when I went to sleep last night, I'd slept soundly and had woken up well-rested for the first time in practically my whole life.
I was actually showered and ready to go before my über perky sister, which never happened. I'd even made it down to breakfast while my parents were still home; shocking them into thinking they were late for work.
"I'm just up early," I replied, placing a frozen waffle in the toaster. Mom handed me the syrup from the pantry and finished her coffee.
"Honey, if your sister isn't up in a few minutes, could you check on her? She didn't seem herself yesterday." Mom said worriedly, stuffing papers into one of her various work folders.
I nodded, reading the headline of the paper my dad had just smacked down onto the counter. He seemed distracted, which wasn't out of the ordinary on a Monday for him. My dad grabbed his coffee mug and set out for the door, while my mom groaned at her papers.
"Need help?" I asked. My waffle popped up from the toaster, and I grabbed it quickly with my fingertips and dropped it on the plate.
Mom shook her head and took another folder from her bag. "These aren't making sense," she huffed, looked at her watch, and then with wide eyes looked back at her papers. "Mary Kathleen, you're going to be late for school!" she called, and I flinched, rubbing the ear she'd just yelled near.
Mom shoved her papers in a jumbled mess in her bag and marched over to the stairs, yelling up for my sister again. I started to eat my waffle when I heard Mom climb the stairs and knock on Mary K.'s door.
I heard murmured voices, but couldn't make out the conversation. I abandoned my breakfast and went back upstairs to check on my sister, who was sitting up in bed, looking awful. Mom was checking her forehead. Her russet hair, usually glossy and smooth, was pulled back in a rough, messy bun and her eyes and nose were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying.
"Oh, sweetie," my mom murmured. "I think you should stay home today." Mom said sympathetically. She checked her watch again. "I should call into work."
"You don't have to stay with me," she objected, her voice broken.
"I could stay with her, Mom." I offered.
Mom sighed and looked between us. "Do you have any important tests or assignments due?" she asked. Mary K. didn't seem thrilled by this option.
I shook my head. "Nothing that Cal or Robbie can't help me with,"
She nodded. "I'll make a call to the school." Mom checked her watch yet again and sighed. "I have to get going," she told Mary K., kissing her forehead. "Call me if you need anything, okay sweetie?"
Mary K. nodded, and Mom left her, gave me a kiss, and then left the house in a rush. My sister looked relieved.
"Sick?" I asked, sitting next to her.
"Not exactly."
"Studying too hard?"
Mary K. scoffed and grabbed her favorite pillow that she's had for forever, the roughed-up baby pink fabric of it dull compared to her lemon-yellow bedding. She held the pillow in her lap and leaned onto it, letting out a sigh. "I did something stupid." She admitted.
I swallowed hard, bracing myself. "With Bakker?"
She nodded, her bun bouncing and coming loose from the elastic hold. "Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
Mary K. stared down at her pillow. "Have you and Cal had sex yet?"
My breath came out harsh, not expecting such a blunt question to come from her. I knew my sister was curious, and that she'd had a not-so-great introduction to sex—especially since I'd all but beaten the hell out of Bakker when he'd tried to rape Mary K.
I nodded cautiously. "Just once." I said, shifting uncomfortably on her bed.
She looked up, her eyes were reddening again and brimming with tears. "Was it what you thought it would be like?"
I closed my eyes and sighed. "No. It wasn't what I thought. He was sweet and romantic and all of that, but I didn't feel right, and it hurt, and I felt…weird afterwards."
Mary K. didn't reply to that. I reached down and covered her hand with mine. "Mary K., did you sleep with Bakker? You can tell me."
She shook her head. "Not all the way, but we did…stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Yeah. Saturday night we went out on a group date, and then hooked up in his car. I just felt really…gross…" She shifted away from me and clutched the pillow to her chest.
"Is that what you confessed at church?"
She nodded. "Morgan, I really like him. He's ready, and I don't know why I'm hesitating—is there something wrong with me?"
"No!" I hissed. "Absolutely not. The fact that you're even having these thoughts means you're not ready. And I'm not saying that to be mean or your overprotective sister, I'm saying it because I wish I would've waited, and I want you to be sure when you do it for the first time. You're only fourteen, you have so much time to figure this out—you may not even be with Bakker in a couple of months." She flinched at that, and I took a deep breath and tried a softer tactic, resting my hand on her shoulder. "He's nearly three years older than you. I don't want you to get hurt."
Eventually my sister nodded and sank back down into bed, curling on her side away from me, and I took the hint.
"Morning!" I greeted my friends as I got to our hangout Tuesday morning.
"Hey, Morgan," Jenna replied with a smile. "Where were you yesterday?"
"My sister wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home with her. Did I miss anything?" I asked, directing the question more to Robbie, who shook his head.
Robbie cleared his throat. "Cal sure missed you, though."
"Ooh yeah, how was your birthday?" Jenna asked me, and I felt a slight blush creep up, which made her giggle.
Cal came down to join us, sitting on the step next to me and giving me a welcoming kiss. "Missed you yesterday," he whispered in my ear.
I bit my lip softly. "I'm sorry. Mary K. was having a rough day."
Cal nodded, accepting this, and laid his arm across my shoulders. "Can we get together later?" his voice asked, low and husky. This tone usually made me go weak at the knees, but all it did was make my stomach tighten, and not in the good way.
"Sure," I said, mustering up enthusiasm.
The first bell rang, and we all groaned as we got up to head to over respective homerooms. Cal's arms stayed wrapped around me as he walked me to class, and then he gave me a kiss in the doorway, earning whistles and hoots from my classmates. Cal shot me a grin as he headed for his class, and I felt mortified.
After homeroom ended, I caught sight of Bree about to leave and took a bold and probably stupid risk and grasped her arm to pull her aside.
She turned, and when she saw it was me, she looked surprised.
"Listen—about the other night," I found myself saying.
"What about the other night? How you conned your way into Hunter and Sky's good graces and made them trust you?" Bree laughed to herself. "God, I just hope they're smart enough to figure you out."
"Bree," I said quickly. "What're talking about? I'm trying to call a truce."
Her perfect eyebrows rose. "Really," she drawled.
"Really." I nodded. "I'm done with this bullshit, Bree."
Bree shook her head, looking like she was trying not to laugh. "You can't fool me—I know you better than anyone…or at least I thought I did." Her eyes raked me up and down, and she sighed. "Do you even have a thought that hasn't been approved by your boyfriend?"
"Cal does not control me!" I hissed. "Bree, Hunter is trying to help me. That's what's going on."
Bree's eyes narrowed. "Help you?" she exclaimed. "You're pathetic! Cal is using you to get to Hunter, and for what? You're Cal's little puppet, repeating the same recycled garbage he spouts to his little coven every day. You're a good little minion of his, Morgan. You would commit murder if he promised to sleep with you." She spat, and before I realized what was happening, my hand had shot out and smacked Bree hard across the face. Her head snapped sideways, and within seconds the pink outline of my palm appeared on her cheek. I gasped and stared at her as her face twisted into anger.
"You bitch!" she snarled.
Out of lifelong habit, I started to feel remorseful, and then I thought, Screw that. I took a deep breath and called on my own anger, narrowing my eyes. "You're the bitch," I snapped. "You don't understand anything that's going on! I thought maybe, just maybe, I could confide in you, but you're too hell-bent on accepting anything I have to say to be the truth."
Bree gaped at me, her eyes wide, her mouth open. "What is he doing to you? You're acting crazy!"
"Is there a problem?"
I jumped as I heard Cal behind me. Bree glared up at him, her hand lightly cupping her cheek. "I don't know, Cal. Is there?"
With a last glance to me, she stormed off, carefully avoiding Cal.
Cal rubbed my arms with his hands and pulled me close to him. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. All I could do was nod and stare after her.